A Refreshing Break

  • Steve Jones - SSC Editor (11/30/2011)


    IceDread (11/30/2011)


    Maybe this is very individual as well as different per country. I have never in my whole life read emails while on vacation.

    Me either, until I got a phone that allowed them. Now I get personal and work emails on the device. I have typically pruned work back while checking personal emails, but this time I didn't.

    I get that. Going out of the country is one way to make a point. Not that you should play games like that, but if you want to take a real vacation, your employer should understand that. I wanted to go to the Grand Canyon when I was at a job that seemed to require my presence constantly. I gave them lots of notice and made it clear that I would not have access to work and helped my manager manage the situation by suggesting who might be a good backup for me and how much training time I would need to spend with them. I took the vacation and the company didn't suffer too much. 🙂

  • IceDread (11/30/2011)


    Maybe this is very individual as well as different per country. I have never in my whole life read emails while on vacation.

    Same here. I've always been able to keep work and home separate and I rarely even think about work when I'm not there.

    Greg

  • ... I wanted to go to the Grand Canyon when I was at a job that seemed to require my presence constantly. I gave them lots of notice and made it clear that I would not have access to work and helped my manager manage the situation by suggesting who might be a good backup for me and how much training time I would need to spend with them. ...

    In similar fashion, I gave my manager a one-year notice (after postponing the trip for two years due to "neediness") that I would be taking a month off in the wilds of Alaska, and we needed to get someone trained to back me up. Guess when they gave me a backup to train? Three weeks before I left. And only a couple of hours each week to train him.

    They managed to get along without me, although there was some mild panic a time or two, I was told. And the pile of emails and "held tasks" was impressive when I got back. Oddly enough, I got a regular backup person to train shortly thereafter. 😀

    Nice thing about northern Alaska - no cell phone service. It was a great vacation, and yes, I came back TOTALLY refreshed and ready to take on the world.


    Here there be dragons...,

    Steph Brown

  • Wise words, Steve.

    It is very important to get that break from work. If on vacation, be on vacation and stop checking email.:-D

    Jason...AKA CirqueDeSQLeil
    _______________________________________________
    I have given a name to my pain...MCM SQL Server, MVP
    SQL RNNR
    Posting Performance Based Questions - Gail Shaw[/url]
    Learn Extended Events

  • Steve Jones - SSC Editor (11/30/2011)


    IceDread (11/30/2011)


    Maybe this is very individual as well as different per country. I have never in my whole life read emails while on vacation.

    Me either, until I got a phone that allowed them. Now I get personal and work emails on the device. I have typically pruned work back while checking personal emails, but this time I didn't.

    I understand. While it definitely can be handy, and good for the job, I never turned on any email features in ether of my phones. I was afraid that if I did turn it on, I would constantly check it and for me it works without email in my phones. I read emails while in front of a computer and when someone has something important to talk with me about while I'm not in, they phone me. That is an extra step for them to do which I like. Btw, while this is usually concerning my private life, thou I am 30 years old and should love all new tech, and I do, I prefer not to text back and fourth while a phone call takes care of it all.

    Greg Charles (11/30/2011)


    IceDread (11/30/2011)


    Maybe this is very individual as well as different per country. I have never in my whole life read emails while on vacation.

    Same here. I've always been able to keep work and home separate and I rarely even think about work when I'm not there.

    I think this is a good thing. All thou I like my work, and I bet you do too, I highly value my private time. I also think it is good for stress levels, thou that probably is individual.

  • On any given day, I rarely check email while out of the office, even when not on vacation. If something important comes up, I'll get a call on my cell phone. My wife has an iPhone, and seems to spend a lot of time checking email and facebook, but I've never felt a desire to be "plugged in" all the time. For me technology should be like a servant; quietly performing it's routine duties until called upon. I don't want a codependent relationship with a piece of technology or a job.

    "Do not seek to follow in the footsteps of the wise. Instead, seek what they sought." - Matsuo Basho

  • I've just come back from almost a week in the middle of nowhere (also known as the eastern Free State). No cell signal (except from a certain point at the top of the hill) and no 3G signal at all. Very nice break. Worked my way through 8 books in 4 days

    Gail Shaw
    Microsoft Certified Master: SQL Server, MVP, M.Sc (Comp Sci)
    SQL In The Wild: Discussions on DB performance with occasional diversions into recoverability

    We walk in the dark places no others will enter
    We stand on the bridge and no one may pass
  • Just got back from being off for a week. Didn't need to bother with work e-mail at all. Definitely a good break.

    - Gus "GSquared", RSVP, OODA, MAP, NMVP, FAQ, SAT, SQL, DNA, RNA, UOI, IOU, AM, PM, AD, BC, BCE, USA, UN, CF, ROFL, LOL, ETC
    Property of The Thread

    "Nobody knows the age of the human race, but everyone agrees it's old enough to know better." - Anon

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